Patna: Chief minister Samrat Choudhary on Tuesday announced that a new campus of the National School of Drama (NSD) will be established in Bihar with Union govt’s support.In a statement issued by his office, Choudhary expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union culture minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat for approving the NSD campus. He said the Bihar govt is taking necessary action to provide suitable land for the institution and will bear 50% of the approved construction cost as the state’s share. The state will also provide administrative support for the early establishment of the campus.Choudhary said the decision will give Bihar’s rich theatre and performing arts traditions a new identity and fresh possibilities at the national level. He said Bihar’s cultural heritage has been extremely rich, noting that it is the land of great personalities such as Kalidas, Ramvriksh Benipuri and Bhikhari Thakur. The state’s folk theatre and performing arts, he added, have their own distinct and glorious tradition.The NSD campus will provide young artists in Bihar with stronger institutional opportunities for professional theatre training, stagecraft, performing arts and advanced research. Choudhary said talented artists will have less need to travel outside the state for training, while better coordination will be created between Bihar’s folk theatre traditions and modern theatre.He said the state govt has established the Bihar Sangeet Natak Academy for the protection, promotion and coordination of theatre arts, and the NSD campus will further strengthen those efforts.Choudhary said the new campus would not merely be an institution, but an investment in Bihar’s cultural heritage, young talent and the future of modern theatre. He expressed confidence that coordinated efforts by the Central and state govts will place Bihar more firmly on the national theatre map.
